San Mateo Jury Finds Caltrans Liable for Millbrae Crosswalk Crash That Left Teenager Brain-Damaged
After trial: Caltrans was ordered to pay $8 million of the $12.2 million verdict because the driver's insurance did not cover her 30 percent share. We found no report of an appeal, and none states whether the payment was made.
Won by Walkup Personal Injury Lawyers.
A San Mateo County jury in 2010 awarded $12.2 million to the family of a 17-year-old girl struck in an unsignalized marked crosswalk on El Camino Real in Millbrae in March 2006. She was left in a coma with severe brain damage. The jury put 50 percent of fault on Caltrans, 30 percent on the driver and 20 percent on the girl. Caltrans was ordered to pay $8 million.
What happened
On a March evening in 2006, a 17-year-old girl was crossing El Camino Real at Ludeman Lane in Millbrae, in a marked crosswalk with no traffic signal, when a Toyota struck her. She was left in a coma with severe brain damage, and later reporting described her as unresponsive.
The family sued the State of California, which through Caltrans controls El Camino Real, and the driver. The case was tried in San Mateo County Superior Court in 2010. The central claim against the state was that Caltrans had known for years that marked crosswalks without signals on that stretch of road were dangerous to pedestrians and had done nothing about it.
Richard Schoenberger, a partner at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, represented the family. At trial the plaintiffs showed that Caltrans had never studied pedestrian accident rates in the area. They also showed that the agency had blocked a 2006 effort by the city of Millbrae to put flashing lights at a nearby crosswalk.
Liability was disputed. The defense pointed to the girl's own conduct. She was wearing dark clothing and listening to an iPod when she was hit.
The jury found Caltrans liable and awarded the family $12.2 million. It assigned 50 percent of the fault to Caltrans, 30 percent to the driver and 20 percent to the girl. Because the driver's insurance did not cover her share, Caltrans was ordered to pay $8 million to the family.
After the verdict, Caltrans repainted the crosswalk and added yield triangles. A spokeswoman told a reporter pedestrian lights had been installed at the intersection, then acknowledged they had not been. Caltrans later announced a pilot program of pavement markings and push-button flashing beacons.
The crosswalk had a record behind it. NBC Bay Area reported that eleven more pedestrians were struck in nearby crosswalks after the 2006 crash, which gave the verdict's finding about long-known danger a continuing relevance for the city and its residents.
Asked about the agency's response, Schoenberger told the Bay Citizen that the agency was 'way behind the eight ball when it comes to pedestrian safety.' He added that for Caltrans there 'couldn't have been a bigger wake-up call to pay attention to the El Camino Real.'
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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